By Legal Futures’ Associates SearchFlow
Following the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Economic Statement today, Dr Thomas Quirke, managing director of SearchFlow – the UK’s leading provider of conveyancing search solutions – provides his view on the announcement made relating to the property market and changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT):
“The Chancellor has today taken decisive action to help further shore up the property market, by providing a boost that sees a Stamp Duty ‘holiday’ immediately come into force. By increasing the lower stamp duty threshold to £500,000 for property sales in England and Northern Ireland, for the next nine months, it will help to open up the market. It creates a financial stimulus for those who were perhaps considering moving to a larger house but were concerned about the financial outlay in doing so.
“The most important aspect of the announcement today is the timing; any delay in bringing the SDLT holiday into play could have had a catastrophic effect on the market, as people would wait for the tax break to commence. I commend the Chancellor for taking instant action.
“As for who this benefits, first time buyers were already exempt from SDLT up to £300,000, so I believe that the steps announced today are designed to stimulate the overall market. Those already on the property ladder who may be considering their next move are set to make big savings if the deal is completed before 31st March 2021, while freeing up more property for those entering the market. For example, someone purchasing a property at around £480,000 is set to save over £14,000 in taxation during the SDLT holiday, while the average Stamp Duty bill is set to fall by £4,500.”
With more than one million conveyancing searches and legal reports run every year for over 2,000 legal clients across England and Wales, SearchFlow is the leading provider of comprehensive searches, surveys, identity checks and conveyancing insurance solutions and prides itself in working in partnership with its clients to provide solutions that enable competitive advantage.
For more information on SearchFlow visit www.searchflow.co.uk.
